Political Participation and Muslim Women
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2026.v11.n02.028Keywords:
Women Education, Political Participation, Muslim WomenAbstract
According to the Islamic law it is agreed that education was never restricted for women. It is advocated that Islam has empowerment for women imbibed in its foundations. In the past education of Muslim women resulting compounded due to lack of proper facilities and misguided social norms. However, gradually this has been changing and more Muslim families are providing quality education to their daughters as well and a true compliance of Islamic norms are being followed where women feel special, wanted, esteemed, and empowered. But there exists a key challenge for Muslim women regarding their participation in politics. Which is very poor in percentage as compare to other community women even among those women who completed their higher education. Women participation in politics is one of the key areas for empowering women in the society. Studies shows that educational engagement and political participation are interrelated to each other because education will help to be conscious in the field of politics and it will reinforce them to participate in politics. Aims of the present study is to deliberate the role of education for Muslim women in the political participation after interference of their male counterparts or the male members of the family.
References
[1] Afshar, H. (1996). “Women and Politics in the Third World.” Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London.
[2] Blum, R. W. and Nelson-Mmari, K (2004). “The Health of Young People in a Global Context” Journal of Adolescent Health, Elsevier, Volume: 35, Issue: 5, Pages: 402-418.
[3] Chaudhry I. S. and Nosheen F. (2009). The Determinants of Women Empowerment in Southern Punjab (Pakistan): An Empirical Analysis, European Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 10(2), pp.216-229.
[4] Devi, D. S. and Lakshmi, G. (2015). “Political Empowerment of Women in Indian Legislature: A Study,” The Indian Journal of Political Science, vol. 66, No. 1.
[5] Global Gender Gap Report (2020). World Economic Forum, Retrieved From: WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf On 1st March 2026, ISBN-13: 978-2-940631-03-2.
[6] Jamir, T. (2008). “Gender Dimensions of Electoral Politics,” Ishani, vol. 2.
[7] Khan, A. (2025). “Empowerment of Muslim Women from Marginalization to Representation in India”, RESEARCH REVIEW International Journal of Multidisciplinary, Vol. 10, No. 3, ISSN: 2455-3085, Page. 9 – 16.
[8] Krishna, S. R. (2013). “Political Empowerment of Marginalized Women-a case study in Khamman district of Andhra Pradesh”. Asian Journal of Research in Social Science and Humanities, vol. 3, Issue. 4.
[9] Mollah, K. (2018). “Status of Muslim women in West Bengal”, International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, Vol. 5, No. 2, ISSN: 2349-5138.
[10] Ojha, R. (2014). “Women in Electoral Politics in Nagaland India” International Research Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 3, No. 11.
[11] Rahman, R. and Rahman, B.S.A. (2023). Gender, Religion and Higher Education: Strategies of Muslim Women Students in India, Sage Journal, Vol – 72, Issue – 4, https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231196728
[12] Ramokolo, V., Wright, C.Y., Sanders, D. and Makabile, W. Z. (2025). “Undernutrition and its Social Determinants” International Encyclopaedia of Public Health (Third Edition), Academic Press, Volume: 5, Pages: 319 – 329.
[13] Tonnessen, L. (2018). “An increasing number of Muslim women in politics: A step towards complementarity, not equality”, Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Brief no.
[14] 2018:3) 6 p. Retrieved From: https://www.cmi.no/publications/6534-increasing-number-of-muslim-women-in-politics#author-details .
[15] Uhlaner, C. J. (2015). “Politics and Particiaption” International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), Science Direct, Pages: 504 – 508.
[16] Varghese T. (2011). Women Empowerment in Oman: A Study based on Women Empowerment Index, Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, Vol. 2(2), pp.37-53.
[17] Young Voices (2022). The Link Between education and Political Participation of women in Politics., Accessed From: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/linkbetween-education-and-participation-of-women-in-politics. On 1st March 2026.
[18] Zaman, F. (2012). “Bangladeshi Women‟s Political Empowerment in Urban Local Governance”, South Asia Research Journal, Vol. 32(2).